Nepal Foreign Affairs (Kathmandu Jan 15) — The Second Bilateral Line of Credit (LoC) Review Meeting between Nepal and India has been successfully concluded on Jan 14 in New Delhi by simplifying the checklist for LoC projects implementation.
Issuing a press statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that during the meeting, the Nepalese side shared the tentative list of projects to be implemented under the LoC-III in roads, power and irrigation sectors.
“The meeting also revisited the progress made under USD 100 million LoC-I and $ 250 million LoC-II,” the press statement said adding “Both sides expressed satisfaction for performances of past interventions and addressed some issues encountered during implementation.”
The meeting took place at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs officials of India and Nepal have agreed to field an Exim Bank team to follow up with the implementation of the LoC projects in February, the statement said. The 3rd LoC Review Meeting will be held in Kathmandu in coming July. Joint Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini, who is head of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination division at the Ministry of Finance led the Nepalese delegation while Alok Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary (Development Partnership Administration-I) at the Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation during the meeting.
Prior to the review meeting a high-level bilateral consultation meeting took place between Nepal’s Finance secretary Suman Prasad Sharma and Secretary of the Development Partnership Administration and Economic Relations of India, Sujata Mehta.
“Secretary Mehta welcomed Nepalese delegation and expressed commitment to continued support to Nepal,” reads the press statement adding, “Secretary Sharma informed Indian side about the policy directions of Nepal that would encourage focused interventions rather than fragmented ones as the trigger for sustaining development.”
According to the statement, the meeting focused on utilizing $ 1 billion LoC-III in Nepal’s priority sectors.